Air travellers in eastern provinces were again hit by massive flight delays yesterday, with capacity cut by up to two-thirds thanks to ongoing PLA military exercises.

The civil aviation regulator issued an orange alert - the second highest in a four-tier system - early yesterday morning for 23 airports, including those in Shanghai, Nanjing, Nanchang, Hefei, Zhengzhou and Wenzhou. An orange alert indicates that between 50 and 90 flights would be either cancelled or were delayed for more than an hour.

Before the warning was lifted at 5pm, 85 flights were cancelled at Pudong and Hongqiao airports in Shanghai, The Civil Aviation Administration of China said.

It said air traffic capacity in the Shanghai area was cut by up to 65 per cent.

One passenger, who wished to remain anonymous, said he had been due to fly from Qingdao to Shanghai on an 8.40am flight, but arrived at the airport to find the flight had been rescheduled to 1.30pm.

"Why didn't they tell me in advance so I didn't have to wake up so early?" he said.

Air travellers can expect little relief from the delays, with the live-fire drills - which started last Sunday - due to continue in waters off the east coast until August 15.

Notices on the websites of the national and local maritime safety administrations said exercises would be carried out in the Bohai Sea for eight days from last Friday, in the East China Sea for five days from tomorrow, and in the Gulf of Tonkin for seven days from yesterday.

Military experts said the drills were intended to signal China's tough stance towards Japan and its ally, the United States, and were timed to coincide with the 120th anniversary of the first Sino-Japanese war.

Ni Lexiong, director of a defence policy research centre at Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, said drills on such a massive scale in the eastern waters were rare, and were a warning to Japan.

A spokeswoman for the Civil Aviation Department of Hong Kong said it received notification at 7.30am about the restrictions at Shanghai's two major airports.

A spokeswoman for the Airport Authority said six flights between Hong Kong and Pudong were cancelled yesterday morning.

Thirty-nine flights to Hong Kong from airports in the east were delayed, while 30 flights departing Chek Lap Kok left after their scheduled time.

Additional reporting by Lana Lam

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as Another day, another airport delay

To have two-thirds of the nation's airspace military-controlled is absurd. The US is the same size, with a huge military, and yet doesn't restrict so much airspace. There really should be serious reconsideration of air corridors over China, with consideration given to efficiency and economic logic.

hkhk Jul 27th 20148:34am

This likely all about PLA generals trying to remain relevant and escape anti-graft efforts by the government.

caractacus Jul 27th 201411:15pm

Whatever arcane reasons are behind this it is almost certainly nothing to do with America, Ukraine, Taiwan or Japan.
Perhaps it is a demonstration of force aimed at impressing the people of China, or even cowing Hong Kong. After all, a dictatorship can do anything it likes, however bizarre, without having to explain to the population affected by it.

ejmciii Jul 27th 201410:00am

Look at the bright side, they will not be shooting down commercial airliner when their missiles malfunction.

r6b Jul 27th 20148:37am

Even during the cold war, there were no such mass closures of airspace in Europe or USA.
Its highly doubtful that China's closures of its airspace today offer any real defensive deterrent nor any real way improve PLA's defensive capability.
Aircraft will not be the weapon of choice for any future international conflict in which China may be involved - at least not on its eastern border.

cj21356772@****** Jul 27th 20146:10pm

Why not to catch a train?Anyone know the news.

nick.doddle Jul 27th 20143:25pm

I know Shanghaii and Qingdao only with delays. Once Iwas stuck in qingdao for 12 hours because they had an Iranian delegation there. And they bothered to tell everyone only after check-in, so they didn't have people wandering about.

Would have expected a better response from you. If China wants to threaten HK, all it got to do is threaten to shut off the water supply. With nearly 60% of the American military force now pivoting to Asia & an US open policy of surrounding China with hostile forces/countries, China would be like caractacus - a loser (Caractacus: a Britisher who lost to the conquering Romans) if she doesn’t prepare.

captam Jul 27th 201410:47pm

What a shame!
If the plane had been shot down by an American-made missile supplied to Taiwan or Japan, they could have blamed it on Putin or better still, like the Algerian airline , blamed it on "bad weather".Take the train stupid. Trains are safer and usually get you there on time.